September 7, 2016

Reading Partners announces strong student reading progress in North Texas from volunteer-led tutoring program

For Immediate Release

 Contact:

Kaitlin Guthrow, Executive Director, Reading Partners North Texas
(972) 523-6702, contact.northtexas@readingpartners.org

Nonprofit calls for more community tutors in 2016-17 to expand impact

(Dallas/Fort Worth, TX) September 7, 2016 — Reading Partners is a national nonprofit organization that collaborates with local public schools and mobilizes community volunteers to provide students in under-resourced schools with the proven, individualized reading support they need to read at grade level by fourth grade.

Reading Partners transforms a dedicated space into a reading center, complete with a library and teaching tools managed by a full-time AmeriCorps member or staff member. Reading Partners collaborates with teachers and principals to identify students reading behind grade level, and provides them with personalized literacy instruction.

2015-16 Results

Reading Partners prides itself on delivering a program model that is both highly effective and transparent. In that spirit, the nonprofit organization issues annual impact reports spotlighting national-level performance as well as performance results in all 14 of its regions across the country. The impact reports for the 2015-16 school year have recently been posted on readingpartners.org and include the following highlights and many more.

• In the North Texas region:

  • 1,113 students at 24 partner schools were matched with over 1,000 community volunteers who delivered over 42,000 tutoring sessions over the course of the year.

  • Among Reading Partners’ youngest students, 87% mastered key foundational reading skills needed to read at grade level.

  • Based on survey responses, 88% of principals report improved school-wide reading progress, 99% of teachers report Reading Partners is valuable to their school and 97% of volunteers were satisfied with their experience.

  • Learn more about Reading Partners’ impact in north Texas here.

  • Learn about Reading Partners’ national impact here.

“Our students’ significant progress this year is testament to the unique combination of academic and social/emotional support that our model provides. We are so grateful to the commitment of our 1,000 volunteers who showed up each and every week to work 1:1 with our students,” said Kaitlin Guthrow, executive director of Reading Partners North Texas.

More Volunteers Needed in the 2016-17 School Year

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, in 2015, only 21 percent of low-income students nationwide, and 36 percent of students overall, are reading proficiently by the fourth grade. This means that nearly nine million low-income elementary school students are still learning to read when they should instead be reading to learn. Without developing the reading skills needed to read on grade level, kids won’t have an equitable chance to succeed in school or in life. In fact, students who can’t read by fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out of school or not earn a high school diploma.

According to the results of the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress, only 16% of low-income fourth graders in Texas are proficient readers for their grade-level.

In the 2016-17 school year, Reading Partners North Texas aims to match 1,000+ community volunteers with 800 struggling readers. By tutoring a student one-on-one for as little as an hour a week, volunteers can make an impact that can quite literally alter the course of a child’s educational experience and life.

“I strongly believe the ability to read and comprehend is the basic foundation for success in other areas of life,” remarked a Reading Partners North Texas volunteer. “Tutoring is something I can give and feel I can make a huge positive impact on a child’s life.”

The impressive student results highlighted above and in the corresponding impact reports would not be possible without the generous participation of thousands of community volunteers. To become a volunteer with Reading Partners, please visit readingpartners.org/volunteer today.

About Reading Partners

Reading Partners empowers students to succeed in reading and in life by engaging community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring. The national nonprofit organization will provide proven, individualized literacy tutoring to more than 11,000 elementary school students in under-resourced schools across ten states and the District of Columbia in the 2016-17 school year. Visit readingpartners.org, or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, to learn more.